My Favourite Reads July - September 2020
Another amazing three months of reading - I feel like I’ve really pinned down what kinds of books I enjoy and rarely have regrets or unfinished reads. It’s actually getting harder to write these summaries, as I want to feature most of the books I’ve read and struggle to get the list down to a manageable amount to write about. Reading is always a form of escapism for me, and there’s nothing better than completely losing yourself in a book that you then can’t stop thinking about when you’ve put it down. The past few months there have been many books like this, notably Tennis Lessons, The New Wilderness, The All Night Sun, Sisters and Exit Management. I’m already itching to re-read all of these titles - I get so much more out of a book when I pick it up for a second, third or even fourth read. I’m actually missing re-reads at the moment, as my TBR pile is so ridiculously big and there are so many upcoming books I’m excited to read. At some point, when I finally make a serious dint in my pile, I’m probably going to have a re-reading month, when I pick back up some of my favourites from the past couple of years. But for now, here are the books that I enjoyed the most over the past three months.
THE GREAT GODDEN BY MEG ROSOFF
This is YA at it’s best - all consuming, sun-drenched, complicated relationships aplenty. I read this in one afternoon, completely engrossed, barely coming up for air, before all of a sudden it was over and I wished it was longer. Meg Rosoff is just the queen of YA fiction, writing stories that are aimed at teenagers but just as easily absorbed by older generations seeking a sense of nostalgia for their younger years.
THE FEMALE PERSUASION BY MEG WOLITZER
I’d only read one book by Meg Wolitzer previously (The Interestings) but now I want to go through her entire back catalogue. The Female Persuasion is just wonderful - it’s one of those books that hooks you in with really interesting, well-developed characters then take you on a journey through a long period in their lives. I love books like this, as I’m usually left wanting more from a story and enjoy being given what I want.
BLUE TICKET BY SOPHIE MACKINTOSH
I enjoyed The Water Cure a couple of years ago, and was intrigued to see what Sophie Mackintosh did next. Blue Ticket, for me, exceeds her debut novel, telling a more absorbing tale and developing Sophie’s distinctive voice. In a dystopian future, girls are randomly allocated either a blue or white ticket when they reach a certain age. A white ticket, meaning they have been chosen to bear children and be mothers, or a blue ticket (and a coil involuntarily fitted) meaning that they are free to have fun and will never have children. Calla rebels against the decision that has been made for her, becoming pregnant and going on the run.
TENNIS LESSONS BY SUSANNAH DICKEY
I loved this book so much. It reminded me of Saltwater by Jessica Andrews, in that it is a beautifully written coming-of-age story focused on a character who grew up roughly at the same time that I did. I was initially worried about the second person perspective, but soon fell into it and absolutely gobbled this up. I read a review recommending this for fans of Fleabag and I May Destroy You and completely agree. One of the best books I’ve read in this genre, and one of my highlights of this year’s reads.
THE NEW WILDERNESS BY DIANE COOK
This is wonderful, and I recommend that everyone who loved Station Eleven picks it up immediately. I’d been looking forward to this book all year and curiously for me, it completely lived up to the hype. I felt devastated when it was over (partially due to the ending, partially because I just wanted it to continue). Basically, what used to be America is divided up into different areas based on the needs of the population and there is just one area of wilderness remaining, the Wilderness State. Bea and her daughter Agnes are part of a small group of people who venture into the wilderness as part of an experiment, to learn how to live in this dangerous place while leaving no trace on the land. The writing is just wonderful (I can’t wait to get my hands on Diane Cook’s short stories now) and the Wilderness State is just so wonderfully detailed that I could clearly picture it in my head.
DOMINICANA BY ANGIE CRUZ
I really enjoyed Dominicana, and it really opened my eyes to a culture that I had previously known nothing about. In the 1960’s, fifteen-year-old Ana is married off to a man twice her age in the Dominican countryside and moves to New York without her family. The book details her loveless marriage, her blossoming relationship with her husband’s brother and how she slowly settles into life in a new country - all based on the real experiences of the author’s mother. It’s an interesting and eye-opening story with a wonderful protagonist, that I recommend everyone reads.
OUTSIDERS EDITED BY ALICE SLATER
I’m not the biggest fan of short stories, as they often leave me wanting more, but I keep my eye open for collections featuring writers that I love. Outsiders first caught my eye as it featured a story by my friend Lara Williams (of Supper Club fame) so I preordered a copy and was so glad that I did. I took this on holiday with me, and discovered that short stories are best read between swims in the sea, drinking aperol spritz on your deckchair. My favourite stories in this collection were Francine by Anna Wood, To Peel an Orange by Beverley Ho, Skin by Lena Mohammed and Wilgefortis by Eley Williams - as well as the stories by Lara, Julia Armfield and Kirsty Logan.
THE ALL NIGHT SUN BY DIANE ZINNA
This book had all the ingredients for a story I’d fall in love with (America college, Sweden at Midsummer, complicated friendships) and didn’t disappoint. I devoured this, only coming up for air to plan my future trips to Sweden every time a place was mentioned that I started daydreaming about. This is a beautifully written portrayal of grief and friendship that brought me to tears at points. It’s told in a dreamy, ethereal prose that completely sucked me in, and just writing about it now makes me want to pick it back up. One of my favourite books of the year.
LUSTER BY RAVEN LEILANI
I really, really enjoyed Luster, but I always feel a little disappointed when books are as hyped up as this was. I feel like I would have enjoyed this even more if I wasn’t expecting it to be the best thing I’ve ever read. The story revolves around Edie, a black artist living in New York who embarks upon an affair with Eric, a married white man from the affluent suburbs. Through a series of events and circumstances, Edie ends up living in Eric’s house with his wife (who she develops a complicated relationship with) and their adopted black daughter who she bonds with. There’s lots of sharp humour, brilliant writing and acute observations, making this an essential read this year.
SISTERS BY DAISY JOHNSON
I really enjoyed Daisy Johnson’s previous books, but Sisters is by far my favourite of her work. I raced through this one evening, reaching for it immediately in the morning to finish the last few pages before getting out of bed - and then spent the entire day thinking about it. It’s a simple story, based around a family moving to a new house and the relationship between two sisters, but Daisy’s writing is just so brilliant. I really want to read this again to appreciate every word, as I read it so quickly.
THE SALT LINE BY HOLLY GODDARD-JONES
Dystopian books are featuring a lot on my reading list this year, probably inspired by the current state of the world. The Salt Line isn’t the best of the genre that I’ve picked up this year, but I was absolutely hooked on the story. Basically, it’s the future and terrifying ticks drill into your skin and release eggs that hatch into thousands of tiny ticks that burst back out of your skin (and carry a deadly disease), so everyone lives in sterile cities (that my mind confused with the cities in The New Wilderness) behind a ‘salt line’ of scorched earth. A group of tourists takes a trip out into the wilderness that lies beyond the salt line and discovers the grim truth of what’s really out there.
THE HARPY BY MEGAN HUNTER
I adored The Harpy - until the ending. I don’t want to write any spoilers, but I just didn’t think the magical realism worked here. I did, however, enjoy the majority of the novel, which is a beautifully written account of the consequences of an infidelity. Lucy discovers that her husband cheated on her, and decides to stay with him but with a special arrangement that she can hurt him three times. While all this is going on, Lucy becomes obsessed with legends of the harpies, which she has been interested in since she was a little girl.
KOKOMO BY VICTORIA HANNAN
Apologies for the majority of my readers who are based in the U.K, but sadly Kokomo isn’t currently available over here - I’m a book-obsessed weirdo who paid a lot of money to ship it over from Australia because I really wanted to read it! I’m glad I did - I adored this fun, fast-paced book, focused on relationships between friends and mothers-and-daughters. I’ve been reading a lot of books recently about women in their twenties/thirties realising who they are and who/what matters to them, and this was one of the best.
THE DISASTER TOURIST BY YUN KO-EUN
Another book that I flew through, completely gripped on the story. I’ve seen The Disaster Tourist described as an ‘eco-thriller’, which describes it perfectly. Our protagonist, Yona, works for a travel company that exploits disaster zones, curating holiday packages for people to experience the disasters first hand, staying in luxury resorts that give them a degree of separation from the reality of what they are observing. She ends up thrown into the middle of a scheme aiming to create a man-made disaster on an island struggling with tourism, with disastrous consequences.
ALL MEN WANT TO KNOW BY NINA BOURAOUI
I didn’t realise this was a memoir when I first picked it up - for some reason I was expecting fiction. This is a beautifully written account of the author’s childhood and teenage years; growing up in Algeria and later moving to Paris. It’s beautifully written, delving into subjects such as sexuality and the relationship between mothers and daughters. I loved how it flitted backwards and forwards in time, in a format that worked perfectly. I’ve only recently got into memoirs, and would recommend this for anyone who enjoyed In the Dream House.
EXIT MANAGEMENT BY NAOMI BOOTH
If you haven’t picked up anything by Naomi Booth, I highly recommend that you bump her up to the top of your list. There’s just something about her writing that I absolutely love. Sometimes literary fiction is just about showing off how talented a writer you are, but Naomi is just as good at plot as she is with words. I also love that everything I have read by her has been completely unique - Exit Management is very different to her previous work. This book also wins my award for Best Title, as Exit Management’ just sums up everything about the book perfectly. One of my favourite reads of the year.